Amidst the hoopla of the recent election season, the new and politics-based media has become an absolute circus. Of course, there have been very positive events- nominations for the first Republican female vice president and the first minority candidate for president in a major party are huge landmarks in our history. However, there have been stumbling blocks as well, wedges dividing an already polarizing nation.
In the course of the past twenty months, the media has propagated a slew of generalizations and misconception, spanning across the social spectrum. Even worse, many of these remarks have come from the candidates themselves, bringing our country a step back from the ideal of social cooperation.
Some may remark that such a thing is typical, that politicians need not be held accountable for how their audiences may interpret their propaganda. However, when America is seen as divided between Real and Other, when corruption in our highest offices is widely accepted to be inevitable, when one’s moral fiber is dictated by their loose affiliations or political party, when ethnic and religious descriptors such as “Muslim” and “Arab” are deemed undercutting insults, I cannot help but believe that something is seriously amiss.
Who’s to be held accountable for the new character of public opinion? The candidates who provoked the ideology? The media for over-analysis and biased commentary, essentially prolonging the discussion and legitimizing such views? Or is this bitter division just part of our political ritual, when potential voters are excited as if screaming sports fans, invariably waving their team’s flag solely for loyalty and tradition? For the sake of our continued social progress, I hope November 5th brings us back to reality.
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1 comment:
I was just reading along and realized that my post is somewhat related to the argument you make here. Guess November 5th didn't cool people off.
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